QUEBEC — Premier François Legault has emerged from meetings with high-ranking Donald Trump officials convinced more than ever that the American-Canadian trade relationship will have to change, and that means Quebecers need to get used to the idea that their economy will never be the same. Pledging to nevertheless protect Quebec workers despite the challenges ahead, Legault said the two days of meetings he and the other Canadian premiers held in Washington convinced him the Americans are looking for long-term reassurances they can have access to Canadian minerals and resources. And Quebec companies, including those producing aluminum, steel and softwood lumber, are going to have to make concessions and diversify to develop new markets to compete. …“There were some very frank moments across the table,” added British Columbia Premier David Eby. “They urged us to take the president at his word.” …Legault said he’s “prepared to make compromises on aeronautics, on forestry.”

QUEBEC — Steeve St-Gelais listened nervously on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump listed industries he might target for tariffs. …“Will he wake up tomorrow morning and want to say, ‘Well, we’re going to do something specifically for wood’,” he wondered. St-Gelais is the president of Boisaco, a forest products company based on Quebec’s north coast that employs about 600 people and relies on the U.S. market for about 10 per cent of its business. The company’s $200 million in annual revenue isn’t enough to dominate the Canadian landscape, but it’s an economic superpower in the Sacré-Cœur community of just 10,400 people. The reason St-Gelais is so nervous is that since Trump took office four weeks ago, he’s seen a drop of about 25% in orders from Canada and the United States. His customers are buying just enough to cover their short-term needs, waiting to see if the president will take on the industry. 

NEW BRUNSWICK — Three timber firms will have a chance to convince the New Brunswick Court of Appeal that a lower-court decision should be struck in the Wolastoqey Nation’s big Aboriginal title case. On Friday, Justice Ivan Robichaud granted J.D. Irving, Limited, Acadian Timber and H.J. Crabbe and Sons leave to appeal. They all appeared last month seeking permission from the appeal court, New Brunswick’s highest, to re-examine Justice Kathryn Gregory’s decision on motions they had filed to remove them from the massive lawsuit. As is customary in such decisions, Robichaud did not offer any reasons for granting their request. The companies didn’t like Gregory’s lengthy ruling in the Court of King’s Bench last November because, although the judge agreed that the industrial defendants and everyday private property owners must be removed from the Wolastoqey lawsuit, their land was still part of the title claim.